Ghosts OR Of Ghosts and Gorgons
by Charon the Sabercat
Summary: Cedric has the power to talk to people's spirits. Can Cedric stand the mental strain when Gorgon calls his ancestor's spirits to help him destroy the Earth? Now with an epilogue!
1. Weird, Weird, Weirdly Strange Intro

I Can Talk to Ghosts, You Know  
  
Cedric has powers. He can talk to ghosts. Not just human ghosts, either.  
  
"That.... was the corniest movie.... I have ever seen," 2-T droned as he turned off the tv.  
  
"Let's watch it again!" Cedric shouted.  
  
Mike whapped Cedric with a pillow. "No! That movie was stupid!"  
  
"The lizard people reminded me of Penkhan," Do-Wah stated.  
  
B-Bop turned to the ceiling, inadvertantly meeting eyes with Lilly. "You know, they do."  
  
It was 7:00 pm, Zapz Arcade was the current location of our heros (plus Lilly), and the corny movie with Penkhan-like lizard people that was being discussed was Flash Gordon. The group of six were all squished onto a large sofa, Mike being the only one who would rather sit on the floor that with a trio of aliens. Cedric was in the middle of it all, holding an empty bowl that used to contain Cheese Mongers. He giggled his girlish laugh and spoke to himself. "Great, now everytime I see this movie, I'm gonna think of Penkhan. Thanks a lot."  
  
B-Bop sang, a la Mailbox from Blue's Clues. "You're Welcome!"  
  
There was another bundle of laughes, and all was right in the world. Lilly turned herself so that she was resting on her head on the top of the sofa. "That was fun- Hey, maybe we can watch Xanadu next? Whadda you guys think?"  
  
"Frank Sinatra!" Mike cheered.  
  
"Not Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly!" 2-T corrected rudely.  
  
"Yeah, Mike! How could you mix up those two?" Angela began to poke Mike in the head with her good arm; her other arm was still in a sling, numb, useless, and riddled with bullet scars.  
  
"Now-you know something's wrong when the alien knows more about pop culture than the humans, know what I'm saying?" B-Bop laughed.  
  
Lilly chortled. "Mixing up Gene Kelly for Frank Sinatra, how moronic. Well, I still haven't heard any votes for Xanadu, whadda you say, Ced?"  
  
Lilly looked in Cedric's direction, only to see he was asleep. No, wait, he wasn't asleep; his eyes were half open, but his body was limp and lifeless. It was like he was in a trance...  
  
The Higher Being gave the brown-skinned lower being a gentle nudge. "Ced?" She increased the nudges to more frequent jabs. "Cedric? Are you okay?"  
  
"Cedric?" Angela shook his shoulder. "Cedric, wake up."  
  
"Is he okay?" 2-T wiggled out of his relaxed posistion and leaned himself closer to his friend. "He-he's breathing right?"  
  
"Ceeee-dric?" Do-Wah hit him sharply on the head with his fist. No response. "Cedric!"  
  
"Come on, Wake up!" Angela pushed him so hard, he fell over. 2-T caught him and layed him down on the sofa, ushering B-Bop away.  
  
It was like this for a minute, and then he woke up. He shook his head, all the while accepting questions about his health.  
  
As he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head of all thought, he felt Angela's gloved hand brushing his temple. He sighed.  
  
This was gonna take some explaning.  
  
***  
  
"Cedric, more than likely, you had a seizure," Lilly concluded. "You cannot talk to dead people."  
  
"Yes I can!" Cedric accentuated every word, jabbing his thumb into his chest. "It's just that I... caannnn only talk to freshly dead people."  
  
"Oh, jeezlaweez," Mike rubbed his forehead.  
  
"It's true!" Cedric lept to his feet in a fit of anger. "It's true! As soon as dead people die, their ghosts- Idunno- they, like, float through my head or something, and I black out, and-"  
  
Lilly actually laughed! She caught herself laughing, not-quite stopping herself, and said, "Okay then (bfhehhehehhe), what do the Ghosts say?"  
  
"Um... usually not a lot," Cedric rubbed his hands insecurely. "They usually tell me stuff like 'Tell my wife I love them'-"  
  
"Most often asked request on the battlefield," B-Bop countered.  
  
"Learned that from Hollywood Squares last night," 2-T added.  
  
"Um..." Cedric was at a loss for words. His hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were becoming pale. "And, they ask me where they are, like they don't know they're dieing, or something-"  
  
"You said you only talk to freshly dead people!" Lilly snapped.  
  
"They can be halfway dead!" Cedric felt something stinging in the middle of his face- he was about to cry. He kept his eyelids open and thrust his face downward. "I remember, there was this one old lady who asked me to turn off her bathwater-"  
  
And with that, B-Bop, 2-T, Mike, and Lilly all erupted into gales of laughter, unaware that Cedric was listening to them.  
  
"IT'S THE TRUTH!" he roared. "I'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT SINCE I WAS A BABY! I'M NOT LYING!" A tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. "I'm not lying..."  
  
He began to loose control of his breathing, and he fell to his knees in defeat. Angela jumped up to help him, Do-Wah following closely. She stroked his back affectionately. "Oh, Cedric... it's okay. They don't mean anything bad."  
  
"I talked to you."  
  
Do-Wah and Angela jumped back, and the rest stopped laughing.  
  
Do-Wah was confused. "Huh?"  
  
"I talked to Angela..." Cedric tried to speak through his cracking voice. "I talked to her... in and out of my head, after she'd been shot..."  
  
Mike and Lilly gasped, but Angela wouldn't buy it. She put on her favorite tough-girl face and placed her hand on her hip. "But... Cedric, that's crazy, I don't remember that at all-"  
  
"OF COURSE YOU DON'T REMEMBER! YOU WERE DYING!" Cedric had jumped to his feet again and was presently right in front of Angela; a threatening sight it might have been if Cedric was just a little taller. "I remember, you kept fading in and out of view with every beat of your heart! I remember better than you do!"  
  
Cedric stepped back and took two, long, shuddering breathes. "It's hard. I've been able to talk to the dead people ever since I was a baby... I remember seeing Dad dieing... Mom doesn't believe I can talk to dead people either, but I can..."  
  
He took one more breathe, and spoke very, very quietly. "And nobody ever believes me."  
  
2-T gulped audibly, and Lilly (although shaken) thought of an idea.  
  
"Hmm... we won't know for sure if you can talk to dead people unless we go somewhere... where we know there are ghosts..."  
  
"There's a haunted house opening near our school!" Mike cheered.  
  
***  
  
"This house was occupied by Tia Montalban, a descendant of the famous Ricardo Montalban." The tour guide waved his hand towards an ornately designed piano. "Tia Montalban was a virtuoso piano player, and it is often said that her piano can still be heard playing in the middle of the night."  
  
"Not much of a haunted house, is it?" Mike complained to Angela.  
  
"Uh uh," she nodded.  
  
"You feeling dizzy or anything, Cedric?" Lilly asked the black boy.  
  
"No..." Cedric shook his head fiercely and rubbed his eyes. "But something's giving me a headache."  
  
"Well, that might be something." Lilly tugged down the bottom of her University of Arizona t-shirt and continued on the tour.  
  
"This was Tia Montalban's room!" chittered the tour guide. The bedroom was ornately decorated in all manner of laces and gold thread. "This is the only room in the house that has been left in touch, and-"  
  
"AAH!" Cedric suddenly dropped to the floor, clutching his chest in pain. All of the people around him tried to rush to his aid, but Lilly held them back.  
  
"What's wrong, Ced?" Angela pleaded. "Is the ghost talking to you?"  
  
"Ghost?" yelped one of the tourists  
  
"What's she saying?" Mike asked urgently.  
  
Cedric took in a few deep breathes. "She... wants to thank the tour guide guy."  
  
The tour guide guy pushed his way to Cedric, his brow furrowed. "Okay, what's going on here?"  
  
"Ms. Montalbon wants to say thank you for not changing the room," Cedric answered, his eyes half-closed and his breathing even and quiet... he was in another trance. He spoke in monotone. "She's says its okay let people in the house; she likes visitors."  
  
"This boy's speaking to her ghost!" remarked an older woman.  
  
"He's fakin' it!" said an younger, teenaged boy.  
  
"So... that's all she's saying? Thank you?" asked the tour guide.  
  
"No... she wants to tell you there's an old twenty dollar bill under the bed. You can sell it for extra money or something..."  
  
The tour guide jerked back, flabbergasted, and slowly made his way to the bed. He lifted the bedskirt, reached under the bed.... and pulled out a faded twenty dollar bill.  
  
***  
  
Gorgon stepped onto the California mountain, speaking in his native tongue. "Ssspiritsss of my greater ancessstorsss, embue me with thy greatessst powersss. Come hither, and empower me!"  
  
Gorgon roared in ecstacy as his ancestor's spirits flew into his body, making him grow in size and strength. The fire within his chest began to burn stronger, and flames shot out of his mouth with each and every breath. He laughed evilly, making sure his deepend, empowered voice echoed through the high mountains of the desert.  
  
***  
  
Cedric slapped his hand against his ear. "Ow!"  
  
B-Bop looked in Cedric's direction, concerned. "Are you okay, Ced?"  
  
"My head just stung all the sudden," he monotoned, shrugging off the sensation. "Nothing to worry about."  
  
Oh, believe me, Cedric, it's something to worry about. To be continued...  
  
Um, author's notes? Let's see...  
  
Tia Montalban is not real, nor do I think she'll ever be real, because a true Mexican would never name their kid "Tia". Much less a descendant of Ricardo Montalbon. Poor guy, reduced to doing a voice on Kim Possible. YOU CAN DO BETTER, RICKY! You can! 


	2. Big, Big, Big Cool and Flashy Finish!

Of Ghosts and Gorgons, Chapter 2  
  
I've gotten into a really bad habit of changing story titles while I'm writing them. Cool, huh?  
  
Muldoon rested in his silo, sitting in his favorite chair, toying with an old, wooden yoyo. "Ah, they don't make 'em like these anymore. Now, these are the quality yoyos, the yoyo's of my grandfather. Not those cheepo, plastic yoyos of my day, but the wooden yoyos that provide a smooth, sweet feeling ride. Walk the dog!"  
  
He began listing off tricks by the dozen, copying them the best he could. "Around the world! Eiffel Tower! The... bouncing thing with the string... Walk the dog again!"  
  
Muldoon gasped in surprise as his MATD went off, causing him to loose control of his yoyo. His smacked him in the head before he gathered the MATD in his hands. "Aliens! Aliens in the desert! I have to protect the planet!"  
  
He rushed into his hovervan, unaware that it was not multiple aliens, but one alien with multiple souls...  
  
***  
  
"I don't think I've ever felt a spirit's presense when playing Ouiji," Cedric scratched his head.  
  
"You haven't?" Mike moved the Ouiji thingy around absentmindedly. "My mom swears by this thing."  
  
Mike released the Ouiji thing and let it roll over to Dog, who jumped on it and rode it for a few inches. Dog kept pushing himself like a little kid on a hoverboard, barking and yapping as if he was having fun.  
  
Cedric took a basketball and tried in vain to spin it on his finger, but it faltered and fell to his feet. He sighed and shook his head. "There's really no way to really tell if I can talk to ghosts. I just know I can."  
  
A light, faint beeping sounded from one of the arcade cabinets. 2-T checked the screen and said, "Uh oh; we've got Gorgon just outside of Muldoon's silo!"  
  
"Didn't you send him into orbit?" Angela asked, rubbing her inanimate arm.  
  
"Yeah, he must've gotten out," B-Bop rubbed his lower arm, as if he was rolling up his sleeve. "Let's go, guys!"  
  
"Yeah!" Mike grabbed his helmet. "Mission time!"  
  
"I'll go get Dog!" Lilly laughed cheerily, snatching the robotic canine from his impromptu skateboard. It growled ferociously, mad that he was ripped from his fun.  
  
***  
  
Muldoon yelped as Gorgon near-melted the exhaust pipe of his hovervan. He lept from the van, tumbling head over heels and firing at the dragon-beast. The lasers easily deflected off of his rubberish skin.  
  
"HAHAHAHA!" Gorgon laughed. "Do you honessssthly think that thossse primitive weaponsss can ssstop me!?"  
  
Gorgon blew a stream of fire in Muldoon's direction, although the black- robed human rolled out of the way. Gorgon laughed again.  
  
"With the sssspiritsss of my ancessstorsss running through me, I am indesssstructible!"  
  
"And just how did you get out of your EMP ball?"  
  
The fire breather turned to the Martians (B-Bop, who asked the question, in particular) veeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy sssssssslllllllloooooooowwwwwllllyyyyyyyyy, and the Martians and kids could see the change in appearance that had overtaken Gorgon.  
  
His skin was a deep red, no longer dark green. The long fringes which once appeared on his shoulders and arms were now curved spines raking his skin. A large orb of energy encircled in body, mostly red in color with cloudly forms swimming along the perimeter. The energy field kept a solid 10 feet away from his body, forming a protective shield around him. Angela and Cedric gasped; The Martians and Mike tensed upon their rides. Lilly formed two lavender energy balls in each hand and readied herself for battle.  
  
Gorgon hissed, "How I got out of my tomb issss not the issssssue now, Martiansssss. What I am going to do now ISSSSSSSS the isssssssssue!"  
  
Gorgon shot a fire stream at them; the Martians dodged them with ease, as did Mike and Angela. Cedric, however, fell over on his hoverboard, and lay stunned on the ground. Gorgon flew forward, and the edge of his energy barrier made contact with Cedric's face.  
  
(^#@%R*&^*#&%)&(&%$&T*Y  
  
Cedric was floating in a dark void; he usually did this whenever a spirit decided to talk to him. He hovered in a vacuum, bobbing up and down like a fishing lure. All around his body, green clouds of puffy stuff swarmed and circled around him, hissing and whispering words he didn't understand. He knew the sensation well; people he "talked" to often didn't say their words as clear as day. But, something about this encounter was different from the others. His very center of his head, somewhere in the space between either temple, was in stinging, throbbing, nearly intolerable pain! He held his head by his ears, trying hard to get the pain to go away.  
  
"No, go away!" Cedric began to scream, although he heard no sound coming from his own throat. "Go away! You're hurting me!"  
  
The clouds pulled back and zoomed towards Cedric's body, the pain increasing as they moved closer. The pain in his skull was indescribable! He screamed in terror, unable to withstand the agony!  
  
Before the clouds could make contact with his body, a strong, long-fingered hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away.  
  
*****  
  
"Cedric, you're okay!" Angela hugged her youngest (well, probably youngest) friend with her one arm. "You're okay!"  
  
The small boy relaxed in Angela's arm, unable to move any body part without hurting himself. "What happened?" Cedric asked.  
  
"You touched Gorgon's force field and started screaming!" B-Bop explained, laying a hand on his black-human-buddy's shoulder.  
  
Lilly hovered above the itty bitty group, holding her hands together. "It sounded like it was killing you!"  
  
Cedric clutched his chest, breathing deeply. "I think it was."  
  
B-Bop looked over his shoulder. Half of his vision was the rock he was hiding behind, the other half being 2-T, Do-Wah, and Mike hiding behind another boulder, firing photon beams and the hovering, flame spouting Gorgon. The yellow-garbed Martian patted Cedric on the head. "Me and the guys are gonna do BKM. You stay here with Angie, okay?"  
  
Cedric took a swallowing breath and answered, "Okay."  
  
"Good boy. Now, stay!"  
  
"B!"  
  
"K!"  
  
"M!"  
  
Mike rushed over to Angela's boulder and gave Cedric shoulder's a reassuring sqeeze. "The guy's aren't doing that good."  
  
"Why not?" Angela gasped, worried for her ET friends.  
  
"Everything they fire at him: laser, missile, punches! They can't hurt Gorgon!"  
  
"Why not?" Cedric repeated.  
  
"It's that force field thing!" Mike answered. "It's deflecting nearly everything!"  
  
Cedric's eyes wandered to the ground, his chest and head still throbbing. He got a sudden idea, and looked directly into Mike's eyes.  
  
It was strange (Cedric had never looked Directly at Mike before), but Mike saw something in Cedric's eyes he had never seen before. A steely resolve, a true bravery that Mike had never seen coming from this young, nervous, almost feminine boy he had known for only a year or two. But yet, there was something else. Something that went past his chocolate brown eyes that reflected back onto Mike's vision... his eyes looked almost silver, a ghostly paleness that Mike had never seen in any human. This boy, he knew now, had something otherworldly to him, something that niether he, nor Angela, nor any of the Martians possessed.  
  
Mike gulped, a cold shiver running down his spine.  
  
"What happened when the force field touched my head?" Cedric asked forcefully.  
  
"Um...." Mike began to shudder. "You... y-you started screaming, and-and- and so did Gorgon-"  
  
"Gorgon?" Cedric's snapped open even wider, causing Mike to flinch; those creep, quicksilver eyes!  
  
"Yeah, Gorgon. He was screaming-"  
  
"Like he was in pain," Angela finished Mike's sentence.  
  
"That's all I need to know..." Cedric took a deep breath, jumped to his feet, and ran out from behind the boulder.  
  
"CEDRIC, NO!" Mike screamed, reaching out his hand to catch Cedric, but he missed by a mile.  
  
***  
  
Gorgon howled in laughter as one of Do-Wah's strongest punches flounced off of his blood-red chest. "You fool!"  
  
Gorgon punched Do-Wah back, sending him flying into the ground!  
  
When Do-Wah landed, he caught Cedric out of the corner of his eye, running to Gorgon!  
  
"What the- Cedric!"  
  
Cedric stretched his hand out, straining to once again make contact with Gorgon's force field. Before he could, however, 2-T had reached down and plucked him right off the ground!  
  
"What are you doing?" 2-T scolded.  
  
"I've got an idea, now put me down!" Cedric kicked against 2-T's hard, metal shin.  
  
"Look out!" B-Bop pulled 2-T and Cedric out of the way of a firebolt. Cedric fell to the ground, landing surprisingly softly on the sands. He, just out of chance, landed next to Muldoon's hovervan, and shuffled inside for shelter. There, he found Muldoon, hiding underneath a utility computer console, shivering in fear.  
  
"Mister Muldoon!" Cedric crawled under the console with Muldoon. "Can I ask for your help real quick?"  
  
"Huh?" Muldoon stared at Cedric for a few second, then grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him all friendly-like. "Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light! An Earthling!"  
  
"Does that mean I get a favor?" Cedric asked hopefully, smiling sweetly.  
  
***  
  
B-Bop hovered next to 2-T, letting Do-Wah pound on the mythically-named alien. "You find out where Cedric went?"  
  
"He's in the hovervan with Muldoon," 2-T answered B-Bop quickly.  
  
"That's a relief," he remarked, flying forward to catch Do-Wah before he hurt himself.  
  
HONKY HONKY!  
  
The hovervan blasted past the Martians, Muldoon at the wheel-  
  
AND CEDRIC ON THE ROOF! WHAT WAS CEDRIC DOING ON THE ROOF OF THE HOVERVAN!?  
  
There he was, riding the van like he would a hoverboard. He wasn't even wearing his helmet!  
  
"I'm ready, Mister Muldoon!" Cedric cried.  
  
"Go get that invading scum, little buddy!" Muldoon laughed. He slammed on the brakes, shotting Cedric off of the van and into Gorgon's forcefield!  
  
The result was amazing. Cedric hit the force field like a bullet, and immediately some kind of electricity went shooting through his and Gorgon's body. Both shouted in pain; Cedric's cry was more of a tutored wail, while Gorgon's was a screeching roar. Within seconds, both shot suddenly outward in different directions, Cedric landing on the ground with a horrifying ground. Gorgon simply righted himself, regaining his original form steadily.  
  
Muldoon jumped out of his van and ran to Cedric's aid, lifting him by the shoulders until he was sitting up straight. "Sonny! Sonny boy, are you all right? Wake up!"  
  
Cedric's eyes fluttered open, only to scare Muldoon even further; his eyes were completely silver now, as if the brown in his eyes had been sucked away in the attack. He stared off into space, barely breathing at all. "I couldn't do it... couldn't make contact, they're still with Gorgon..."  
  
"Cedric!" 2-T and Mike both landed beside the fallen friend, Dog hovering directly over 2-T's shoulder. "Dog, medi-beam!"  
  
Dog swiftly zapped Cedric directly on the chest, kicking him back to life. He bolted onto his feet, coughing, then hyperventilating. Mike clutched him by the shoulders, trying to steady him.  
  
"Cedric, please, calm down!" Mike demanded. "You're gonna kill yourself this way!"  
  
"I need to make contact with the ghosts!" Cedric thrashed about in Mike's arms, possessed with a unearthly strength. Both Mike and Muldoon had to hold onto him to keep him down. "Let me go!"  
  
2-T sighed. "Where's Lilly when you need her?"  
  
Lilly apparated, sitting atopt of 2-T's helmet light. "Always there, you just gotta call me."  
  
"LILLY!" 2-T grabbed the Higher Being by the tail and threw her at Cedric. "Hold him down!"  
  
"Aiya! Fine!" Lilly slammed her arms around Cedric's chest, holding him with the power of a vice grip.  
  
As the Martians kept trying to fight the weakened, but still very strong, Gorgon, Cedric tried to talk his way out of Lilly's grasp.  
  
"Lil, trust me, I know what the ghosts want," Cedric whispered. "They need to talk to someone. I heard them! Lemme go, and I'll show you!"  
  
"No, Cedric!" Lilly growled with a stubborn tone.  
  
"But I know I can defeat Gorgon!"  
  
"How?"  
  
Cedric closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm... not sure. But the ghosts that are in Gorgon's body, I know what they want, and they want to talk to somebody!"  
  
Lilly's tail fur ruffled, and her grip loosened. "You promise not to fling youself off a truck this time?"  
  
"Uh huh," Cedric nodded.  
  
The Higher Being let go of her close friend. "I'm trusting you. Don't kill youse-"  
  
"OKAY, I LOVE YOU, BYE BYE!" Cedric ran towards Gorgon, the wind at his back and the sand in his eyes.  
  
Gorgon, meanwhile, was catching photon beams and throwing them back at the Martians without mercy. Just as B-Bop had taken a bad blow to the chest, he heard a tiny voice from beneath him.  
  
"You okay, B-Bop?"  
  
"A little shaken, but not stirr- CEDRIC!"  
  
B-Bop had missed Ced by inches, and now was watching him make his way to the foul-smelling alien. Gorgon snarled at the young human in warning, but Cedric approached him calmly walking, the silver in his eyes shining brighter than ever before.  
  
They stood before eachother, staring into eachother's eyes. A match of undreamable odds, undoubtly, but it was taking place before the Martian's, the kids', and one certain Higher Being's very eyes.  
  
On one end, a 7 foot tall alien, with mystic roots and dragonesque powers. Broud, powerful shoulders; deadly crushing hands; a fanged mouth that housed a furnace for a lung. The Gorgon looked down upon Cedric with disdain and hatred.  
  
On the other end, a 5 foot 3 inch short human, with a background lost in uninterestingness and powers unascertainable. Thin, femine build; hands that never touched anything remotely weaponlike; quiet lips and eyes of chocolate brown (unless the light hit them the right way). Cedric sighed and focused on Gorgon's face, his face determined and set.  
  
They stood there, looking at eachother, barely moving. 2-T moved forward to help Ced, but Lilly apparated in front of him and blocked his path. Angela whimpered in worry and pushed herself into Mike's arms; he held her gently, keeping his eyes on Cedric. Do-Wah tried to cross his fingers, but the BKM suit wouldn't allow it.  
  
A few seconds, nothing happened. And then, Cedric reached out and grabbed into Gorgon's wrist.  
  
Red light and vicious looking lightning bolts erupted from both bodies! Gorgon began to roar in pain yet again, but Cedric held his own, his fist clenched tightly around Gorgon's arm. Dark clouds began to circle overhead, an omninous BOOM! echoing through the sky.  
  
Stoat Muldoon looked into the skies and gasped in terror. "It's a lightning storm! Just like the typhoon back in '39!"  
  
"Cedric's attracting the lightning!" said 2-T, in Martian, to B-Bop. "If we don't disconnect those two, they're both gonna get zapped!"  
  
Do-Wah flew to 2-T and B-Bop, forming a triangle of BKM suit. "But how're we gonna get them apart?  
  
"And why are we worried about Gorgon getting blasted?" B-Bop had probably just asked the stupidest question yet, but it wasn't his fault; as a Martian, he had never seen a true lightning storm, and so, did not understand the properties of lightning.  
  
2-T, however, did know the properties of lightning. "Because if Gorgon gets blasted, the electricity's gonna run through his body and into Cedric! Gorgon can survive it..."  
  
2-T turned his head, letting his vision focus on one of his closest human friends. Cedric was still holding on, his face twisted in obvious pain.  
  
"Cedric can't."  
  
B-Bop nodded solemnly. "I get the picture. You're with me, Do-Wah!"  
  
The Martians hovered about the two energy encased creatures, careful to dodge any stray lightning bolts. Do-Wah and B-Bop lashed two energy ropes around Gorgon's neck; 2-T's rope connected with Cedric's waist.  
  
Just as B-Bop was giving the signal to pull, another, more primitive, tractor beam had wrapped around Cedric's body.  
  
It was Stoat Muldoon! Muldoon gave 2-T a friendly salute. "It is my duty to protect the planet, even if it means joining with foul, alien scum!"  
  
2-T saluted back. "I gotcha, babe!"  
  
"PULL!"  
  
As hard as the four planet protectors tried, they couldn't pry the two apart! Cedric had an unearthly strength to him; his wasn't even moving! Gorgon, too, was like a statue against the Martians, but this was semi- normal Gorgon behavior.  
  
Mike noticed a flash of light run across the clouds. "Oh no!"  
  
Angela cupped a hand to her mouth and screamed, "THE LIGHTNING'S ABOUT TO HIT YOU! RUN!"  
  
The Martians looked upward and scattered. Muldoon hurried away, holding his MATD over his head in defense (which wouldn't have worked anyway, you all know).  
  
In a split second, one bolt of pure energy had barreled into the two ghost- infested creatures, and they both flew back as the energy overtook them. Gorgon skidded onto his back; Cedric roled over his himself multiple times before coming to rest on a boulder.  
  
Lilly apparated closer to where the two beings had been standing, her feet resting comfortable on the crude glass beneath her feet. "Oh my... Cedric?!"  
  
No answer from him.  
  
"Cedric?!" Lilly grunted as Angela and Mike ran past her in a frenzied race. "Cedric, are you alive?!"  
  
Cedric lay motionless on the sand, his hands burned lightly but otherwise...  
  
2-T gave his chest a few soft nudges while Muldoon lifted the boy onto his lap. "Hey... hey, buddy, are you okay?"  
  
"Cedric?" Do-Wah lifted his head gently with a few of his fingers, but as he pulled his hand away, it fell back to the ground.  
  
Angela gasped in shock and began to cry, trying her best to hide her sorrow from her comrads.  
  
(Oh, I'm crying as I type this (sniff). I love this scene, it's so... you'll see. (sniffy)  
  
"I'm... I'm sorry, Cedric," B-Bop whispered to himself. "We couldn't save you..."  
  
"Poor poor humanssssss."  
  
(Everyone who's reading this is now going "OH NO!")  
  
It was like the lightning bolt had hit everyone again; Gorgon was still alive!  
  
And, suddenly, something really really weird happened. The Martians, all of them, felt an anger inside them they had never experienced before. A driving urge, a fire within their chest that tightened their lungs and quickened their breathing. Gorgon. Was. Still. Alive. Cedric was gone, and this.... monstroscity was still living, still driven by revenge, and still perfectly able to destroy anything he wanted.  
  
It was the Last STRAW!  
  
Do-Wah lunged forward and hooked Gorgon into the air, where he was swiftly blasted by 2-T into a boulder, and again by B-Bop into the ground.  
  
The leftover humans watched through bleary eyes as the amazing sight of Martian fury played out before their eyes. 2-T was unusually relentless in his attacks; never before had Do-Wah felt hatred strong enough to throw him into such a fighting rage; and B-Bop...  
  
B-Bop just wanted Gorgon DEAD.  
  
One of 2-T's energy missiles misfired, and hit the ground with amazing force. The whole desert shook, and while Mike was knocked off-center by the blast, he noticed something.  
  
CEDRIC WAS BREATHING!  
  
The boy had pulled himself into a sitting position, and was holding his head! Cedric was alive!  
  
"Sonny boy, you're okay!" Muldoon gave Cedric a hearty human hug!  
  
"You're alive!" Angela cried.  
  
Cedric opened his eyes, and-  
  
"AAAAAAAAH!"  
  
A familiar red glow had replaced Cedric's normal eyes. He was no longer himsef; he was possessed by a Gorgon. Mike and Angela jumped back in fear. Muldoon went so far as to pull his MATD on Cedric, his finger resting on the trigger.  
  
Gorgon/Cedric calmly marched onto the battlefield, unaware that the Martians were watching him in awe. He once again took his place before the living Gorgon, who was just pushing himself onto his feet.  
  
He hissed in dismay, "Did the lighning not kill you?"  
  
"Did the lightning not knock ssssome sssenssse into your brain?"  
  
It was Cedric's voice, but underneath came five other voices, hissing and speaking in their own tongue. Gorgon gasped in revelation.  
  
"You are my ancessstorsss!"  
  
"We were wondering when you would figure it out," spoke the Ancestors/Cedric. "Drakian, leave thisss planet be! Let our soulsss passsss on."  
  
"But... my revenge!"  
  
"Your revenge means mothing to ussss!" The Ancestors were stirring inside of Cedric; his eyes were shifting shades of red. "We wissssh only to passss on to the next life. Let usss!"  
  
"NEVER!" Gorgon held his fists to the heavens.  
  
"Then sssso be it." The Ancestors/Cedric closed their eyes...  
  
A red bolt of something shot out of Cedric's chest and into Gorgon's body. There was one more roar of agony, and his body fell to the ground, dull and lifeless.  
  
Cedric shook his head, patting his arms and legs. "Hey.... Hey, the voices aren't in my head anymore!"  
  
Do-Wah landed beside Cedric, ready to say something, anything, that could express how relieved he was that Cedric was okay, but Ced held up his hand. "I'm okay, Do-Wah. I'm still alive. Just really really sore."  
  
B-Bop and 2-T also landed by Cedric, followed by Lilly, Mike and Angela, and Muldoon. He was bombarded with the familiar "Are you okay?"s and "You're not hurt, are you?"s he had grown accustomed to. He pushed back a stray hair, and took a breath to answer the questions, when he felt the ghosts overtaking him again. He let himself fall backwards, happy that the ghosts hadn't taken him as forcefully as they did last time. He tumbled into the waiting arms of Muldoon, and began to speak in the strange mutiple voice again.  
  
"We are ssorry to have troubled you all," he hissed. "If you have quesstionss, we will ansswer them to the besst of our ability."  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing in Cedric's body!?" B-Bop yelled, lowering his face to Cedric's eye level.  
  
"We are the ancesstorss of Drakian, the Gorgon you trapped insside of the orbitting device. He called upon uss to aid in the desstruction of you."  
  
"You couldn't say no?" 2-T intterrupted.  
  
"It goess againsst our beliefss to refusse a plea for aid from family." Cedric took another breath and kept talking. "We are sorry about your friend, but his body was the only one capable of containing us without harmful reprecussion."  
  
"Because he can talk to ghosts and we can't," said Angela to Mike.  
  
"It makes sense," Mike agreed. "But what was happening with you and Gorgon?"  
  
"Transsitionss of anything from human to alien are very difficult and painful," Cedric said, looking in Mike's direction but not At Mike. "Gorgon bodiess are made to hold more than one ssoul; human bodiess are not. Needlesss to ssay, the processs is difficult."  
  
2-T muttered something about electrons and reactivity, but Mike recognized it as physics and tuned out.  
  
"Are there any other questionss?" Cedric sighed, his body physically growing more and more tired by the minute. "We are tired, and ready to passs on."  
  
"What happened to the alien you vanquished?" Muldoon asked, reminded of the presumed dead Gorgon.  
  
"He iss gone."  
  
Muldoon and Angela gasped. B-Bop stuttered, "He-he-y-you- You killed him?!"  
  
"Hiss ssoul is trapped within the Earth in a crysstal. He sshall forever live in limbo, unable to passs on." Cedric's eyes shut. "It iss a fitting punisshment."  
  
Cedric took one more big breath. "We are tired, and we musst make our way to the other planess. Goodbye."  
  
A red smoke seeped through Cedric's skin and into the air, and the ghosts were gone for good.  
  
FINALLY! Finally finally finally, it's done! Epilogue coming in a while, any author's notes? Um....  
  
I got Butt Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom! for the Playstation 2! It's so cool, but no Robert Stack doin' Muldoon, 'cause he died.  
  
Muldoon's yoyo sceen? I just like yoyos. Cool little wooden yoyos, not the stupid plastic ones. I bashed Ouigi boards earlier. I don't like Ouiji boards. This's Cedric's story, so he gets extra attention.  
  
Um... okay, I'm done, bye. 


	3. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Lilly read off of a paper list, pacing back at forth as she read aloud to Cedric. Cedric sat on the sofa quietly, his legs squished together in worry with his hands clasped on his lap. "Okay, Cedric, we've done the Chinese candle test (Didn't work), we've done the Ouiji board, TWICE I might add (Didn't work), we've tried attracting ghosts with marigolds and lamps and all sorts of- of- of NOTHING for 2 hours today! NOTHING WORKED! And I STILL haven't been able to prove CONCRETELY that you can talk to ghosts!"  
  
Cedric wrung his hands tightly. "M-m-maybe we're trying the wrong thing-"  
  
"Lilly! You saw what happened!" Do-Wah yelled.  
  
"He channeled Gorgon's ancestor's ghosts!" Mike argued. "They explained what happened!"  
  
"They're ALIENS!" Lilly roared, making the abandoned arcade shake. "They couldn't have understood... human biology, that whole spirit thing could've been done with... Mike or B-Bop ANYBODY! It does not make sense!"  
  
"Uh..." B-Bop mumbled, showing uncharacteristic hesistancy. "Lilly, I have to go with the guys on this one..."  
  
"WHAT?!" Lilly disappeared with a poof of smoke and a loud "POP", reappearing before B-Bop's face, red and fuming. "Of all people, Bomray Bop- A-Luna, I expected you to side with me!"  
  
"Lilly called him 'Bomray'?!" 2-T gasped, slapping his hands over his mouth.  
  
"What's the big deal?" Angela asked. "What's a 'bomray'?"  
  
"'Bomray' was B-Bop's old name," Do-Wah whispered urgently into her ear. "And B-Bop hates his old name!"  
  
B-Bop, indeed, had a look of mixed horror and anger on his face as Lilly ranted on. "Besides, you know very well that Gorgons can take a gaseous form and possess bodies, so Cedric could have been possessed normally. Couldn't he have, BomRay?"  
  
B-Bop growled and pushed Lilly away from his face. "Don't call me Bomray!"  
  
"Told you he hated that name," Do-Wah giggled, nudging Cedric which his elbow. Cedric giggled lightly.  
  
He stopped giggling when Lillly appeared in front of him, holding a glowing ball of energy in front of his eyes. As she moved it side-to-side, Cedric's eyes couldn't help but follow. It was so pretty... mesmerizing...  
  
From Lilly's point of view, Cedric's eyes changed from his beautiful brown to the recently discovered quicksilver as the light hit them at different angles. She wondered out loud, "It's weird that his eyes change color, though. Maybe something Is different about him... but he can't talk to ghosts, I know!"  
  
Lilly snapped the energy ball away, but Cedric kept staring into space.  
  
Mike sighed and leaned over the, once again, tranced-out Cedric, snapping his fingers in front of his nose. "Oh no, not again. Cedric?"  
  
Do-Wah shook him gently. "See, Lil, he's doing it again!"  
  
"He's having a seizure!" argued Lilly, floating above the Martians.  
  
Cedric awoke quickly, shook his head, and bolted to his feet. "Aa!"  
  
Ced rushed past Lilly, Do-Wah, and Mike to reach the door. He passed 2-T very closely as he ran, brushing against the Martian's huge jaw with his shirt.  
  
2-T rubbed his skin where the shirt had hit like a kid rubbing a bug bite. "Woah! Cedric, what's up!?"  
  
"Big problem, gotta help a lady, can't talk, bye!"  
  
SLAM!  
  
***  
  
B-Bop tiptoed through the cracked door, his senses hightened and his gauntlet charged. But what he saw touched his heart... he'd never seen anything so moving...  
  
Cedric was snuggling an elderly woman into a cradle of pillows, rubbing her hands comfortingly. Cedric jumped in surprise, but the old lady looked at B- Bop with a warmth he had never seen from anyone. "Más amigos..."  
  
"Ced... what's going on here?" B-Bop asked.  
  
The door flew open, and in barged Mike and Angela, helmets under their arms, breathing heavily. "We... we had to... run up the... stairs... what's..."  
  
2-T and Do-Wah gently shoved the humans out of the way, Lilly weaseling in like a snake.  
  
"Cedric, what's going on?" B-Bop ordered. "Tell me."  
  
"Shhh!" Cedric hushed them, and explained. "This lady's dieing. She needed someone to wait with her while she died. Don't spook her!"  
  
"Son todo el tan ruidosos...." she again whispered weakly.  
  
Angela looked down at the woman in shock. "You understood her?"  
  
"Um... when I talked to her, she was speaking English."  
  
"OH, COME O-"  
  
"Lilly!" Do-Wah elbowed her sharply, making her double over. B-Bop made a threatening gesture towards Do-Wah, and the red-drobed alien snarled back in fluent, violent, and probably offensive Martian.  
  
"Guys!"  
  
The attention was brought back to Cedric and the old woman, who were both looking upon the children in shame.  
  
"Please let this lady get some peace and quiet while she's passing on! Jeez, you guys are acting no better that my bratty cousin Tim!"  
  
Everyone, no matter what race or species, has a bratty cousin, so they all agreed to stay quiet and not disturb the lady. She passed away in her sleep some two minutes later, creeping out the humans thoroughly; they quickly rushed out of the room.  
  
B-Bop, 2-T, and Do-Wah stayed behind for a few minutes of silent contemplation. B-Bop stroked the woman's cheek with the back of his hand before ordering his buddies to leave.  
  
About a thousand thoughts were running through his mind, but one in particular stuck out from the rest; Cedric had helped a complete stranger, even if the help was only watching after the old lady as she died. Cedric didn't know this one particular human, nor did they speak the same language, but... he still came.  
  
On the Bog Star, on Mars, in times of war, it didn't matter, Martians never helped someone when they were dieing. If somebody (more likely a male than a female because female Martians were so rare) was dieing a slow death, from a disease or from old age, no one attended to them. There were no parting words, no loving hugs or held hands. The lonely dieing one just died in peace, or pain, it depended.  
  
But Cedric came and attended to the woman, making her a little cradle of pillows as her life drifted out of her...  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
B-Bop's train of thought ran off the tracks abruptly. Lilly was flying at the same speed as him, keeping up with his OMAB, hovering directly in front of his face, just a few millimeters away...  
  
B-Bop, startled that their faces had been that close together and he hadn't noticed, slammed on the brakes. Lilly was only surprised briefly; she coasted to a gentle stop (B-Bop, however, had flipped straight over the handlebars of his OMAB).  
  
"You are alright, aren't you? Or are you talking to ghosts, too?"  
  
And now the story is done! Thank you all, goodnight! 


End file.
